• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.11
• /
• pp.826-830
• /
• 2002

Prosthetic valve thrombosis(PVT) may be a life-threatening complication requiring prompt intervention. This is a case report of thrombolytic therapy for thrombosis of prosthetic mitral valve. A 47 year-old male admitted to the emergency room for abrupt onset of dyspnea. He had undergone mitral valve replacement(On-Ⅹ valve, 29mm) for mitral stenosis 8 months ago. The patient's international normalized ratio(INR) on admission was 1.09. The mechanical clicks were muffled and rales were heard in both lung fields. A transesophageal echocardiography(TEE) revealed prosthetic valve thrombosis with increased transvalvular pressure gradient(34 mmHg). The patient's condition needed to intubation for mechanical ventilation due to hemodynamic compromise, however his wife and relatives refused the surgical intervention due to financial problems. The patient was transferred to the cardiac care unit and we decided to perform thrombolytic therapy. A bolus of 1,500,000 IU of urokinase was given, followed by a drip of 1,500,000 IU for 1 hour. The patient did not improved hemodynamically; therefore, we gave 100 mg of tissue plasminogen activator(t-PA) for over 2 hours. During that time mechanical clicks were audible and hemodynamics of the patient improved progressively. A TEE showed disappearance of thrombus and decreased pressure gradient(1.7 mmHg) after 6 hours of thrombolytic therapy. The patient was recovered without any neurologic sequale and was discharged with administration of warfarin.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2002

With an increasing awareness of the limitations of both mechanical prostheses and bioprostheses, aortic valvuloplasty has gained attention as an alternative procedure for aortic valve disease. Material and Method: Eight consecutive patients underwent aortic valvuloplasty caused by leaflet prolapse between June 1799 to June 2000. Mean age of the patients was 18.4$\pm$12.6 year. Four paitents(50%) were male. Six patients had tricuspid valves and ventricular septal defect and two patients had bicuspid valves. The extent of aortic insufficiency was 3.5$\pm$0.5 by preoperative Doppler echocardiography. The technique involved triangular resection of the free edge of the prolapsed leaflet, annular plication at the commissure, and resection of a raphe when present in bicuspid valves. Result: There was no in-hospital mortality or morbidity. Mean follow-up was complete at 11.973.6months. There was no late mortality or morbidity. The amount of the severity of aortic insufficiency, as assessed by echocardiography preoperatively, postoperatively and at late follow-up was 3.5$\pm$0.5, 0.6$\pm$0.5 and 0.8$\pm$0.6, respectively(p value : 0.01). There was one patient with grade 2/4 aortic insufficiency and in the other patients, grade 1/2 or trivial aortic insufficiency were detected with late echocardiograms. Conclusion: Triangular resection in the patients with aortic leaflet prolapse offers a good early clinical result, but long-term follow-up is necessary.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.695-702
• /
• 2008

Background: The choice between a bioprosthetic and a mechanical valve is an important decision in cardiac valve surgery, and the durability of the tissue valve is a major decision factor. We retrospectively evaluated the midterm results of bioprosthetic valve replacement in the mitral position. Material and Method: The subjects were all patients who had undergone mitral bioprosthesis replacement between July 1989 and August 200.7. Among the 216 patients, there were 236 surgical cases. The mean age was $63{\pm}15$ years, and the male to female ratio was 1 : 3. We retrospectively analyzed hospital and outpatient records such that the total follow-up duration amounted to 760.2 patient-years, and the mean follow-up duration was $41.9{\pm}40.7$ months (range $0{\sim}212$ months). Result: Early death occurred in 18 patients (8.3%), and 13 of these underwent concomitant cardiac procedures. The survival rate after 5 years was $79.9{\pm}3.5%$, and the survival rate after 8 years was $65.5{\pm}5.5%$, while freedom from structural valve deterioration (SVD) was $96.2{\pm}2.2%$ at 5 years and $85.9{\pm}5.3%$ at 8 years. Freedom from reoperation was $90.6{\pm}1.7%$ at 5 years and $90.4{\pm}4.2%$ at 8 years, while freedom from reoperation for SVD was $98.1{\pm}1.2%$ at 5 years and $92.3{\pm}4.1%$ at 8 years. On multivariate analysis of preoperative risk factors, small valve size (between 25mm and 27mm) was a significant risk factor for reoperation, and low LV ejection fraction (<40%) was a significant risk factor for SVD and mortality. Conclusion: Survival and freedom from reoperation for SVD in mitral bioprosthesis replacement had acceptable midterm results, but freedom from SVD Was relatively low. In particular, since SVD increased sharply at the eighth postoperative year, frequent follow-up and echocardiograms around that time will be helpful for the early detection of SVD. It will be necessary to conduct further studies involving long-term follow-up and more patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.247-254
• /
• 1998

A total of 172 cases of MVR using the St. Jude Medical valve was conducted in the period from August 1986 to May 1996. The hospital mortality rate was 3.5% (n=6) and the late mortality rate was 3.3% (n=5). According to the follow-up of 161 surviving patients, the average length of survival was 50.23$\pm$0.27 months. Three cases of prosthetic valve related complication deaths were identified. Two cases could be ascribed to left atrial thrombi and resulting cerebral infarction, and one case was prosthetic valve endocarditis. Two cases were caused by hemorrhagic complications that we presume to have been accompanied by anti-coagulation therapy. The actuarial survival rate of all cases at 10 years was 92.3%. We conclude that good clinical results and a low complication rate could be achieved through mitral valve replacement with the St. Jude Medical valve. We also conclude that mid-term and long-term follow-ups were instrumental and necessary.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.268-272
• /
• 2008

Paravalvular abscess is defined as infective necrosis of the mitral annulus and surrounding tissue that requires debridement of the necrotic tissue and patch reconstruction before valve implantation. Paravalvular abscess is associated with high operative mortality, postoperative complications, and recurrence. We report here a case of a 59-year old woman that had undergone mitral valvular replacement with a mechanical valve 13 years ago. The patient was determined to have paravalvular leakage due to paravalvular abscess as seen during follow-up. The patient underwent repeat mitral valvular replacement with annular reconstruction. However, the patient with mitral annular reconstruction and valvular replacement on the fifteenth postoperative day due to recurrence of paravalvular leakage. The patient is now receiving follow-up eight months after surgery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.36 no.12
• /
• pp.928-928
• /
• 2003

승모판성형술 직후에 시행한 재수술에 대한 연구보고는 많지 않다. 저자들은 승모판성형술 직후 성형술 실패로 판단되는 환자에서 즉시 시행한 재수술 결과에 대해 알아보았다. 대상 및 방법: 1995년 4월부터 2001년 7월까지 세종병원에서 승모판성형술을 받은 환자 중 체외순환 이탈 직후 시행한 경식도초음파 검사에서 승모판막폐쇄부전 혹은 협착이 의미있게 잔존하거나 다른 이유로 재수술이 즉시 필요하였던 18명을 대상으로 후향적으로 조사하였다. 남녀비는 5 : 13이었고 평균 연령은 44세였다. 승모판막 질환은 폐쇄부전 12명, 협착 3명, 그리고 혼합형이 3명이었다. 원인은 류머치스성 9명, 퇴행성 8명, 그리고 심내막염이 1명이었다. 재수술의 원인은 잔존 승모판폐쇄부전 13명, 협착 4명, 그리고 좌심실천공이 1명이었다. 14명(77.8%)에서 재성형술을, 4명에서는 인공기계판막치환술이 시행되었다. 결과: 조기사망은 없었다. 조기결과는 승모판막치환을 한 4명을 제외한 14명 중 13명(92.9%)에서 0-I도의 폐쇄부전을 보였고 협착은 14명 모두 경도 이하 상태였다. 평균 33개월을 추적조사 한 결과 1명이 술 후 4개월 후 심기능부전으로 사망하였다. 승모판폐쇄부전은 9명(64.3%)에서 0-I도를, 승모판협착은 11명(78.6%)에서 경도 이하였고 재수술은 1명에서 시행되었다. 6년 생존율과 재수술로부터의 자유도는 각각 94%와 90%였다. 4년 후 승모판폐쇄부전 및 협착 재발로부터의 자유도는 각각 56%와44%였다. 결론: 승모판막성형술 직후 재수술은 양호한 조기 및 중기 생존율을 보이며 일차성형술 실패 후에도 높은 빈도에서 재성형술이 가능하다. 하지만 재성형술 시 특히 류머치스성 판막질환에서는 판막 기능부전 발생률이 높기 때문에 성형술 후 판막부전의 재발을 줄이기 위해서는 성형술의 적절한 적용 및 적응증 선별이 중요할 것으로 생각된다.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.614-618
• /
• 2010

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the extent of regression of left ventricular mass after aortic valve replacement in isolated aortic regurgitation. Material and Method: Retrospective analysis of echocardiographic data was collected preoperative and postoperative 1 year. There were 20 patients (12 males, 8 females, mean age $55.8{\pm}11.8$ years, mean body surface area $1.64{\pm}0.19m^2$) with aortic regurgitation from 2002 through 2007. We studied the change of left ventricular ejection fraction, ventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and left vemtricular muscle index (LVMI). The control group was age matched with normal echocardiographic study results. Patients with combined surgery or infective endocarditis were excluded. Result: Seven cases of tissue valves and thirteen cases of mechanical valve were used. The valve sizes were 21 mm (3 cases), 23 mm (13 cases) and 25 mm (4 cases). The postoperative ($125.5{\pm}42g/m^2$) LVMI has decreased than preoperative LVMI ($212.3{\pm}80g/m^2$, p=0.000) but higher than that of control group ($80.5{\pm}15.9g/m^2$, p=0.000). Postoperative septal wall (systolic/diastolic: $13.5{\pm}3.4mm/17.1{\pm}4.1mm$) and left ventricular posterior wall (systolic/diastolic: $12.9{\pm}3.4mm/16.7{\pm}3.4mm$) thickness were slightly decreased after the valve replacement but was not significantly different than preoperative levels. And postoperative interventricular septal wall and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (systolic/diastolic: $8.6{\pm}1.4mm/12.1{\pm}1.7mm$, systolic/diastolic: $8.4{\pm}1.4mm/13.2{\pm}1.9mm$) were higher than that of the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: The significant regression of LVMI after aortic valve replacement developed at postoperative one year but the level was higher than control group. The main cause of decreased LVMI is decreased in left ventricular dimension.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.619-626
• /
• 2010

Background: The indications and the optimal time of surgery of infective endocarditis are controversial. We report the surgical results of our hospital during the last 10 years with literature review. Material and Method: Between January 2000 and December 2009, we enrolled 23 infective endocarditis patients who underwent surgery, and analyzed retrospectively. In the preoperative blood culture, 8 cases (34.8%) were positive. The average preoperative antibiotics treatment period was $20.78{\pm}16.00$ days. There were 12 (52.2%) urgent operations. The average follow up period was $49.26{\pm}33.21$ months. Result: 20 mechanical valve replacements were performed, 9 in aortic position, 8 in mitral position and 3 in the both positions. The other procedures were one mitral valvuloplasty, one infected myxoma extirpation, and one infected pacemaker lead removal with debridement. The average period of postoperative intravenous antibiotic treatment was $24.39{\pm}15.98$ days. There were 5 complications, including 2 cases of postoperative bleeding, one postcardiotomy syndrome, one cerebral ischemia, and a low cardiac output syndrome. There were statistically significant postoperative improvement in NYHA class, left ventricle end diastolic/end systolic volume, and left atrium size (p-value < 0.05). Conclusion: We could obtain the satisfactory results without any moftalities by using sufficient preoperative antibiotics in hemodynamically stable patients, and by prompt surgery in unstable patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.36 no.7
• /
• pp.463-471
• /
• 2003

The long-term results of combined mitral valve repair and aortic valve replacement (AVR) have not been well evaluated. This study was performed to investigate the early and long-term results of mitral valve repair with AVR. Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed 45 patients who underwent mitral valve repair and AVR between September 1990 and April 2002. The average age was 47 years: 28 were men and 17 women. Twelve patients had atrial fibrillation and three had a previous cardiac operation. The mitral valve disease consisted of pure insufficiency (MR) in 34 patients, mitral stenosis (MS) in 3, and mixed lesion in 8. Mitral valve disease was due to rheumatic origin in 24 patients, degenerative in 11, annular dilatation in 8, and ischemia or endocarditis in 2. The functional anatomy of mitral valve was annular dilatation in 31 patients, chordal elongation in 19, leaflet thickening in 19, commissural fusion in 13, chordal fusion in 10, chordal rupture in 6, and so on. Aortic prostheses used included mechanical valve in 32 patients, tissue valve in 12, and pulmonary autograft in one. The techniques of mitral valve repair included annuloplasty in 32 patients and various valvuloplasty of 54 techniques in 29 patients. Total cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross clamp time were 204$\pm$62 minute and 153$\pm$57 minutes, respectively. Result: Early death was in one patient due to low output syndrome (2.2%). After follow up of 57$\pm$37 months, late death was in one patient and the actuarial survival at 10 years was 96$\pm$4%. Recurrent MR developed grade II or III in 11 patients and moderate MS in 3. Three patients required reoperation for valve-related complications. The actuarial freedom from recurrent MR, MS, and reoperation were 64$\pm$11%, 86$\pm$8%, and 89$\pm$7% respectively. Conclusion: Combined mitral valve repair with AVR offers good early and long-term survival, and adequate techniques and selection of indication of mitral valve repair, especially in rheumatic disease, are prerequisites for better long-term results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.591-597
• /
• 1998

Background: The aim of the current study was to analyze the early and intermediate-term performance of aortic valve replacement. Material and Method: Between January 1986 and January 1996, records of 61 consecutive patients who had received aortic valve replacement were reviewed. 38 were male and 23 were female patients, ranging from 10 to 71 years of age(mean: 40.5${\pm}$11.2). Results: The early death rate was 4.9%(3/61). A thorough follow-up rate of 93.1% was accomplished in these 58 patients who left the hospital(mean: 51.5${\pm}$32.0 patient-months) under the assistance of the same operator. Three of these patients who left the hospital died. The late death rate was 5.2%(3/58). Five patients experienced anticoagulant-related hemorrhage(all were minor). Three patients had thromboembolic episodes. There was no clinical evidence of hemolysis and structural failure of valves used. Of those patients who survived, the NYHA functional class improved significantly. Linearized rate were 1.58%/patient-year and 2.0%/patient-year respectively for thromboembolism and anticoagulant-related hemorrhage. The 10 year actuarial survival rate was 83.6%. Conclusion: This early and intermediate-term follow-up suggests that the mechanical valve is a reliable and durable prosthesis with good hemodynamic function and low rate of prosthesis-related complication.